


Negative Space

by TheEvilAuthoress



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Gen, Gentle Darkness, Light of Hope, alternating pronouns for Yubel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-08-26 02:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16673233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEvilAuthoress/pseuds/TheEvilAuthoress
Summary: In art: the space around and between the subject(s) of an image.Two souls that meet and part, and the space that exists in between where they are their happiest.(Infinite Month 2018 prompts)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *crashes in very late to the party* Here I am!!
> 
> [Infinite Month](http://itsashowtime.tumblr.com/post/179583193482/itsashowtime-infinite-month-2018-due-to) kinda? Not gonna write anything real shippy so up to reader opinion I guess. Skipping day 1 and gonna post these in chunks since I am ridiculously late.
> 
> Most of these are written from within a larger story I've been planing so certain parts might be confusing out of context. Feel free to ask for more detail.
> 
> Cross posted on [tumblr.](http://the-evil-authoress.tumblr.com/)

**Day 2: Firsts**

Yubel watches. Yubel always watches. They watch the way Hersha's face lights up as he spars with this new recruit. They watch as the young man reprimands Hersha for a careless mistake, speaking with little regard for the prince's title. They watch as the man stumbles over his words in a hasty attempt to correct himself. They watch as Hersha laughs and assures that he doesn't care. They watch as the man huffs and glares at the prince from the corner of his eye.

"Fine. Pick up your sword. We're done with warm ups. Let's get serious," Tre states, shifting back into stance.

Brown eyes glitter as Hersha retrieves his sword. "You mean you weren't serious before? Careful, newbie, you're not the one with an automatic shield."

"Overconfidence is a danger." Green eyes sharpen.

Yubel smiles.

Tre is the first to look at Hersha and see a person rather than a prince. Perhaps he will also be the first to break through the wall that Hersha has carefully constructed. Yubel watches Hersha, cheeks reddened with exertion, eyes glimmering with life.

That wall has already begun to crack.

 

* * *

 

**Day 3: Touch/Blush**

The first time Hersha drapes himself across Tre, Tre isn’t entirely sure how to react. The Prince had shown up to their usual sparring session in something of a fowl mood, and they’d quickly descended from actual combat to arguing the merits of defensive maneuvers when Hersha possesses the nearly automatic ability to block any attack with his magical shadows. Hersha had then gone into a rant about his tutors at the end of which he flopped across Tre’s shoulders with a loud groan.

“You’re surprisingly comfy,” Hersha mutters before falling silent.

Tre has younger siblings; he’s no stranger to being used as a human mattress. But Hersha is the prince and Tre is a recruit from the backwater countryside of the kingdom, no matter how often his brain likes to conveniently forget these facts. They’ve only known each other a month or two, and this is a level of familiarity Tre has only experienced between family members. So Tre sits there, silent and unmoving, waiting for Hersha to do or say something more, until he finally realizes the boy has fallen asleep.

Well…

What now?

“Well, well, well... look at this,” a voice slides from above as Yubel descends next to them. Tre stiffens. He hasn’t interacted with the creature much; it - she? Tre’s eyes roam the confusing shape of Yubel’s body but the voice is fairly feminine and like hell he’s going ask something like _‘what are you?’_ so sure let’s go with that - tends to watch from afar most days. “To think you’ve gained such trust from the prince in such a sort time. What will you do with it?”

“What?” Tre asks, shifting.

“Very few can claim to have earned Hersha’s trust to such a degree that he’s willing to sleep on them,” Yubel elaborates, leaning over the pair, eyes gleaming.

Tre shifts again but there’s not really much he can do with Hersha’s weight pinning him down unless he wants to unceremoniously dump the teen off himself. “It’s not like I want to take advantage of him or anything, I just enjoy his company.”

“Is that so?” Yubel leans back, arms crossed, and the way those dual colored eyes seem to stare into his soul is unnerving. The hair on back of his neck and arms prickle. Tre feels a bit like a prey animal.

“Yes?”

The corner of Yubel’s lips twitch, then the creature descends into giggles, landing in the grass as she folds into herself. Tre stares dumbfounded. He’s missed the joke.

Hersha stirs sluggishly. “Yubel?”

“Getting quite _close_ with your new friend,” the creature stops giggling long enough to answer, and this time Tre can’t miss the teasing slant of her smile. No longer looming over him from above, he can see the gleam in her eyes for what it is, mischievous rather than menacing.

Hersha makes a vaguely confused sound, shifting to look up at Tre. He blinks a couple times, then pokes Tre’s cheek. “You’re blushing.”

Yubel is still giggling.

“You two are the worst!” Tre snaps, rising quickly to his feet which sends Hersha tumbling with a yelp.

“Wait, Tre! What’d I do?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back,” he hears Yubel say smugly behind him, and curse her she’s right. Tre will definitely be back. This is hardly what he expected from his stay in the capital, but he can’t say that he isn’t enjoying it.

 

* * *

 

**Day 4: Gift**

The streets are packed with people, lined up and down with colorful market stalls and lanterns, signs proudly proclaiming delicious delicacies, fine arts, and exclusive merchandise. Hersha had watched festivals like these from the palace walls. He’d been enchanted by them then; he was twice as enthralled to be in the mist of one now.

 _Perfect way to celebrate_ , he agrees with a glance to his companions engaged in a debate over festival cakes, Ruby chirping from Tre’s shoulder. He smiles.

Something catches the light from the stall next to him and Hersha’s attention diverts, carefully picking up the chain of a moderately sized pendant. He turns it over in his hands, running his thumb along the small stones.

“Unusual taste for you,” Yubel comments over his shoulder.

“It’s not for me,” Hersha grins and buys it on a whim.

 

“Tre!” Tre looks up as Hersha jogs over, hand waving excitedly. “I got you something!” he beams and holds out his [gift](https://www.earthboundtrading.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/306x460/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/1/31093-crystalasststones-036_1.jpg). A clear prism like chunk of crystal hangs at the end of a delicate silver chain, seven tiny stones inlaid in silver against one face of the larger stone, creating a rainbow.

Tre’s eyes widen, holding his hands out to accept the gift. “This is...”

“Perfect, isn’t it?” Hersha beams, thinking of the glittering white dragon waiting for them outside of town and the gemstones adorning her scales.

Zere whistles, appearing from an adjacent stall and leaning over to peer at the piece. “Didn’t think you boys were into jewelry.”

Tre flushes, fingers curling around the pendant.

Hersha laughs. “Please, have you _seen_ the amount of gold I have to wear at formal events? It’s gaudy as hell! But crystals,” he pauses and meets Tre’s eyes with a grin. “Crystals are cool.”

Tre murmurs an affirmative as the slips the chain over his head. He won’t be taking it off anytime soon.

 

* * *

 

**Day 5: Wish/Hope**

_“You will meet again.”_

Hersha looks out over the waves, sparkling blue in the sun. A worn blue travel cloak rests across his shoulders. It fits better than it use to, still a little too broad in the shoulders. He wonders if he always would have been the slighter and shorter of the two of them. Well, no way to know now.

He walks along the coast, far from the reach of the tides. It’s still there, the pile of rocks protruding from the sand. It’s been ages since he managed to come here.

Kneeling, Hersha places his hand upon the rocks. “It’s good to see you, old friend.”

He sits, watches the waves, and he talks. About all the things he’s done and the places he’s been and the people he’s met. It was always this person he was able to speak most freely to.

Gradually the Crystal Beasts join him; Ruby curls atop the stone, Amethyst lies beside it. Topaz flanks him and Hersha’s hand finds its way into his fur. Sapphire stoops to press his snout against the stones. Cobalt takes perch next to Ruby, and Emerald settles on Hersha’s other side. Amber looms above them, trunk pressed to the stone. Yubel slides in between Amethyst and Sapphire, briefly laying a clawed hand against the stone.

Hersha pauses, the first break in his words since he sat down, and glances up as someone else approaches.

Zere’s lips perk into a tiny smile. “I had a feeling you’d be here.”

The Crystal Beasts part to make room for the redheaded woman. “Hello, Tre,” she speaks softly, placing the flowers she holds atop the grave, snowdrops and a blue iris.

Hersha’s eyes linger on the petals.

_“You will meet again.”_

“It’s been ten years,” he says quietly, watching the waves.

He can feel Zere’s eyes on him. “It doesn’t get easier with time,” she says at length, “we simply learn how to cope with it better.”

“Indeed,” Yubel agrees, wiping tears from his eyes.

Hersha doesn’t respond.

“Would you like to join me in for a while? Or do you have pressing matters to get back to?"

Hersha pauses, holding his breath. It’s not an uncommon request. The mage asks him the same question every time they meet. Hersha has never once said yes. “Sure,” he agrees, meeting her blue eyes. It’s time he stop avoiding this.

Zere smiles. “It’s good to see you again, Hersha.”

Hersha nods and Zere stands, and that calls an end to their remembrance as their quiet circle disperses. The Crystal Beasts wander off in their own directions; Ruby hops atop Hersha’s shoulder as he and Yubel follow Zere away.

Pausing, Hersha looks once more at Tre’s grave.

_“You will meet again.”_

He just has to keep believing that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 6: Intertwined/Gentle**

Tre wakes to the feelings of warmth and safe, comfortably swathed in rich fabrics and...other people he realizes as he tries to stretch and finds his mobility limited. Oh right, he fell asleep in Hersha’s chambers last night. Probably shouldn’t make a habit of that.

Hersha’s arm loops over Tre’s waist, the other lost under the pillows, face pressed to the knight’s shoulder, sound asleep. Yubel’s wing is comfortably folded over the both of them, Tre’s legs lost in a tangle with his companion’s limbs. He feels surprisingly content with the arrangement.

Fingers shift through his hair in rhythmic movements, clawed tips gently brushing across his scalp. Tre knows how sharp and deadly those claws are, he’s seen it, but they caress him with such gentleness now he might not have believed it. Closing his eyes, he breathes deeply and pretends to still be asleep just to drag this moment out longer. They’ll have to get up eventually, he knows. They all have duties that won’t allow them to stay here like this.

But for now, Tre will enjoy this gentle embrace.

 

* * *

 

**Day 7: Graceful/Purity/Beauty**

There’s something graceful about the way Hersha wields the darkness. The way it bends around his body and flows like an extension of himself. Hersha fights far more naturally with the darkness than he ever will with a sword, Tre thinks.

“You’re staring.”

Tre feels the self consciousness in his face at Yubel’s teasing tone, but he doesn’t look away. “It’s pretty,” he mumbles, and Yubel snickers.

Hersha’s attention diverts and the darkness disperses. A grin stretches his lips. “Hey! Are you two having fun without me?”

“Just admiring your _graceful execution_ ,” Yubel’s voice drips sarcasm as the devil’s grin adorns his face.

Hersha puffs out his cheeks. “Like _you’re_ any better!”

Dual eyes glimmer. “Shall we contest?”

Brown eyes sparkle. “You’re on.”

Oh boy, Tre thinks. Well this is going to end in disaster.

 

* * *

 

**Day 8: Idolization/Admiration/Adoration/Affection**

It’s nice to feel loved, Hersha thinks, watching his companions pour over the map of the gameboard. He’s lucky, he thinks, to have them and their obvious affection.

Hersha sees the softness in Yubel’s eyes when their eyes meet, notices the way he stands close behind Hersha ever ready to offer his protection and support.

Tre always listens when Hersha needs to vent, offers hugs, and throws decorum to the wind in the face of their friendship. When he spends time with Tre it’s not as a prince and his knight, but as two people, two friends, two equals, and Hersha likes that.

Yubel’s wings cradle him, offer him comfort and solstice when he needs to hide. Tre’s smile drags him back out into the daylight, encourages him to keep moving.

They both chide him for being foolish.

Hersha giggles.

Yeah, he’s really lucky to have these two; he doesn’t know what he’d do without them. He just hopes they know how important they are to him, like he knows his importance to them.

 

* * *

 

**Day 9: Childish/Innocence/Precious**

“Why did you choose to stay?”

Tre turns to Yubel, her - his? Tre still doesn’t know but Hersha refers to the creature as male - dual colored eyes painted with curiosity. The knight turns his eyes back to the prince, animatedly engaged with a cat they’d found roaming the garden.

“Hersha’s...childish,” the words slip from his mouth unplanned and Yubel sputters into a laugh. “I mean,” Tre hastily tries to amend, “he’s kinda like a kid that you want to protect. He’s got this innocence to him since he hasn’t been outside the palace much, like he’s untainted by the rest of the world. It’s...”

“Precious,” Yubel supplies as Tre falls silent, searching for the words.

“Yeah, that.”

Yubel hums and the two fall into silence once more, fondly watching their mutual charge.

“I’m glad we are in agreeance.”

“Same here.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh when I saw the prompt for day 11 my first thought was "Pokemon??"
> 
> Day 13 uses a different incarnation of the boys because plot reasons. The scene is part of a larger story that I have drafted in my files and plan to post when it's ready. Yoshua = Jesse.

**Day 10: Height Difference**

Zere skimmed through the shelves of pottery frowning. Of course they’d need something extremely specific and highly uncommon for this particular spell, and like hell she was gonna pay for a custom just for a one time use. She didn’t care if Hersha _was_ a prince and could technically afford it; it was the principle of the matter!

“Hey, I think I found something!” Zere’s attention swivels as Hersha calls out. Several rows down, the prince stretches up on the tip of his toes an intense look of concentration on his face as he attempts to maneuver a pot off the top shelf.

“Got it.” Tre appears at the prince’s side, easily sliding the pot off the shelf with an extra few inches of reach.

Hersha drops back to his heels with a grunt.

“Will this work?”

Zere plucks the ceramic from Tre’s outstretched hands and turns it over in hers, examining it closely. “Actually yes! Nice find,” she grins at Hersha who is glaring at the top of Tre’s head.

“Uh...?”

Hersha's cheeks puff out. “I'm seventeen! Why are you still taller than me?!”

Both Tre and Yubel burst into laughter, and Zere can’t quell the grin that breaks across her own face.

 

* * *

 

**Day 11: Sun/Moon**

Hersha is like the sun, Tre has often thought, full of a radiance that warms all it touches. He has a certain way with people, able to bring out the best in them or reveal hidden truths. He has a tendency to approach things in an unconventional manner yet, somehow, things always work out in his favor.

Tre does fear that someday recklessness with cost him.

In many ways Hersha is still like a child, unaware of harsh realities. Every child must grow up, Tre knows, but he hopes that that will not diminish Hersha’s warm glow. For if Hersha is the sun, Tre is content to reflect his light.

 

* * *

 

**Day 12: Jewels/Gems**

Tre had never been one to give much thought to jewelry or gemstones. It always seemed like a pointlessly flashy way for the rich to flaunt their wealth. His sisters used to giggle and dream about being gifted sapphires and rubies, while Tre wondered why the hell they wanted shiny rocks. There were much more practical things to covet.

Looking back, Tre almost has to laugh at himself as he glances to the small creature curled up in his lap. Ruby is beautiful; all the Crystal Beasts are, and Tre feels silly for not being able to appreciate gemstones for their beauty before.

He's certainly learned how to now.

 

* * *

 

**Day 13: Eyes**

Yoshua stares into cold gold eyes. _This...this isn't right_ , he thinks, looking to the creature that stands just behind the dark king, dual colored eyes glowing.

Yoshua focuses back onto gold eyes. A new face, a new identity, that's the cycle they find themselves in; but the eyes have always been the same, warm and rich like polished stones. These eyes are hard and jaded, and Yubel stands behind their owner which can only mean one thing.

"What the hell?" Yoshua whispers.

The self proclaimed Supreme King shifts his stance, weaponized darkness curling up around him, and Yoshua's own light flares up in response.

_No,_ he thinks, _I don’t want to fight you. It's not supposed to be like this!_ "What happened to you?"

But gold eyes hold no answer and the king remains silent. When he surges forward to attack once more, Yoshua has no choice but to defend himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaahhhhh! It’s been like 3 days since I posted! I needed a break. Life ate me.
> 
> Day 14 kicked my tail because I had it all planned out when I got home from work, then my girlfriend distracted me with a movie, and when I sat down to write it again, I realized I’d forgotten half it.
> 
> Actually went looking for knight vows for day 15 and ended up making up something that sounded reasonable from the basic jist I got of the matter.
> 
> Day 17 just worked better this way.
> 
> Christina is Zere's current incarnation. There’s an entire story behind her too, and I swear I’m going to finish and post it one of these days.

**Day 14: Future/Time**

It only took a few thousand years for all four of them to end up in the same place again, Jaden thinks with a snort as he watches his friends on the couch, Jesse's head pillowed comfortably in Christina's lap while she plays with his hair. Sure, Jaden had met one or the other multiple times throughout his reincarnations, never in the same time or place, and sometimes entire lives without meeting either of them.

_Perhaps you should use Super Polymerization on them as well,_ Yubel stirs in the back of his mind.

Jaden snorts. _Are you kidding me? All four of us sharing headspace?_ He shudders at the thought. _That’d be a nightmare._

Amusement bubbles up from Yubel’s part of their shared psyche, and Jaden scowls.

_You give me enough of a headache,_ Jaden tosses idly into the void, and it’s Yubel’s turn to scowl, sending a wave of discontent through their shared consciousness.

Jaden laughs quietly. “Sorry, sorry,” he murmurs, and Yubel settles immediately. You get what you give, and both of them understand that part of their arrangement.

Jaden turns his attention back to his friends on the couch, watching them silently. The four of them are a far cry from their former selves - Yubel perhaps less so but even still time and age have left their marks - but there’s still fundamental similarities.

Christina has always been an independent soul, strong willed and opinionated, never afraid to speak her mind. This life had tried to trample those qualities, but her voice remains strong as ever, and Jaden is glad that circumstances hadn’t stripped her of it.

Jesse has always been temperate, gentle, and compassionate, always willing to look for the silver lining and make peace between quarrels. He has every reason to hate Yubel, but he refuses, refused to hold onto that anger from the very moment they returned, even if he hadn’t yet forgiven his former captor. Jesse has grown tired in this life, but he’s not yet disheartened.

And Jaden...Jaden sometimes feel like his soul is some epic ballad on repeat, cycling through tragedy and redemption. He’s glad to have such strong friends. He could never have made it without them.

_You are strong too,_ Yubel assures.

Jaden hums noncommittally.

“Oi, Jaden, stop being antisocial and get over here.”

“Who says I can’t just enjoy watching my friends being cute?” Jaden teases but slips off the bed, wings sliding out the open back of his shirt, and makes himself at home in the spot his friends have cleared for him.

Jesse tenses a fraction as a wing curls around him, but Jaden keeps their claws tucked discreetly away and it only takes a few seconds before Jesse relaxes comfortably back into the cuddle pile. Christina grabs the hotel TV remote, and they find some B-rate fantasy movie on the late night channels. As they laugh at the crappy special effects and pick apart bad scripting, Jaden hopes that, after this, it doesn’t take another thousand years for them to end up back together.

 

* * *

 

**Day 15: Protect/Loyalty**

_“I have many loyal men in my own royal guard; any number of them I would trust with my son’s life, but not with his heart.”_

“It’s going to be mine someday anyway,” Hersha argues as he trots up to the large ornate throne at the end of the great hall. “So what’s the harm in testing it out? Make sure it’s comfortable! Do you want my butt falling asleep in the middle of an important ceremony? I’ll fidget!”

Yubel purses his lips but says nothing, and Tre gets the feeling this is not the first time Hersha has used this excuse to sit in the king’s chair. The teen flops into the seat and leans back with a self satisfied smile.

“It’s comfy.”

Yubel rolls his eyes. “Of course it is comfortable. How often do you think the king must sit here for long hours?”

Hersha pulls a face at that, and Tre snickers. It’s hard to image Hersha sitting still for a lengthy meeting, he can barely sit still during lessons.

Tre steps carefully forward, eyes fixed on Hersha still on the throne, bickering with Yubel. He pauses  briefly at the steps to the dais before ascending. He stops higher than he probably should have - in truth he probably should have remained an the bottom of the steps altogether, but nothing between he and Hersha is conventional, why start now?

Yubel notices first, eyes sliding to Tre as he kneels, right fist clasped over his heart. Hersha is slower to notice and startles when he does, mouth falling open. But Tre doesn’t wait for the question that will come, locks eyes with startled brown and begins the words he’d committed to memory.

“To protect and serve, to uphold honor and peace, to remain true and fair in action and word...”

Hersha’s mouth slowly closes, shock draining from his face as clarity settles in, and then he dips his head so his eyes are hidden but Tre doesn’t look away. No one else is here, just the three of them, no ceremony or fanfair, and that’s fine, that’s _better_ , that makes it more personal.

Hersha’s shoulers tremble. Tre’s voice remains firm.

“...for the greater good of this kingdom and it’s monarch.” And here he pauses before speaking the words he added himself. “I pledge my life to serve you,” - _my prince_ or _my king_ would be the appropriate address, but neither felt right on his tongue nor accurately portrayed what lie between them, and so - “my friend.”

Hersha’s shoulders hunch around his ears, noticeable tremors running along the tension. Tre stands and crosses the rest of the way to the throne. When Hersha looks up, there are tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and a depth of emotion in brown irises; but Tre doesn’t have time to decipher it all before the boy flings his arms around Tre’s waist and buries his damp face in his friend’s stomach.

Tre holds him like something precious as Hersha comes undone.

 

* * *

 

**Day 16: Sacred/Sanctity**

People regard the Gentle Darkness with a reverence that borders on religious. Hersha found it vexing on the best of days. He didn’t want to be worshipped like some kind of god! He just wanted to be a person.

But this, he thinks, this is worthy of that kind of praise. The very ground and air here reverberate with a power that commands majesty; his fingertips tingle, the edges of his darkness pricking. It seems almost as if it should feel like he doesn’t belong here, like he’s trespassing on sacred ground; and yet he doesn’t get that kind of sensation. Instead he feels almost at home.

_I wonder what that says about me,_ Hersha muses, but is pulled from further self decrepitating thought as the Crystal Beasts take up perches on seven distinct placements upon the stone. They create a neat semi circle before the engraved stone face and beckon Tre to the center.

“We have chosen you. Now it is up to her to accept you.”

The gems on each of their bodies glow and seven pillars of light rise up in the sky, meeting together and forming a single pillar of light that descends upon the carved stone. The stone cracks and dazzling light envelops the entire plaza, washing over Tre and painting his form in the colors of the rainbow. From the light, emerges a gleaming white dragon, it’s feathered wings accented in gold and serpentine body encrusted with colorful gemstones. She folds her wings and lowers her head to the human standing mere feet away from her.

Tre breathes and reaches out his hand.

The dragon rumbles contently and leans into his touch.

Tre laughs breathlessly, pressing his forehead to the dragon’s snout. “Holy shit.”

Hersha hates how many people regard the Gentle Darkness, but the Rainbow Dragon is certainly a being worthy of worship.

 

* * *

 

**Day 17: Secrets/Thoughts**

Jesse has often wondered how much Jaden doesn’t say. He watches the other teen with his friends, all smiles and sunshine and boundless energy and yet...that smile seems a little...ungenuine?

Jesse shakes his head. This is something weird to be thinking about someone he’s only just met. Jaden wears his emotions on his sleeve, or appears to at least. Jesse has noticed when Jaden sits alone or when he thinks no one is looking, how the smile slips from his face and his eyes dull, all of his energy pulling inward.

And yet-

He’s loud and active and genuinely caring when he hangs out with his friends.

And yet-

He grows quiet and disinterested, leaning against Christina’s shoulder as he absently fiddles away with a video game.

And yet-

He constantly seeks out social companionship, is able to easily make friends with anyone he meets.

And yet-

He wakes from a nightmare he refuses to explain, tries to hide the tremor in his hands as he pushes Jesse away.

Jesse frowns.

Jaden is layers upon layers of contradiction, wrapped in red fabric and sealed with a smile, and Jesse can’t help but wonder how many secrets Jaden keeps hidden behind that sunny mask.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tre’s “fancy clothes” are basically Crystal Protector’s outfit.
> 
> Currently drawing a blank on the prompts for days 20 and 21. I might come back to them later if I think of something.

**Day 18: Ephemeral Happiness**

They were happy for a time, but happiness is treasured because it does not last.

Zere knew from the beginning that this wouldn’t last. She couldn’t discern the how or why, but the sight that followed her all her life, allowed her that much.

This would end and it would end badly.

She could have turned away then, said her goodbyes to the two strangers she met on the road and been done with it. But still she chose to chase that happiness for however long it would last, becoming more and more deeply invested in the lives of the prince, the knight, and their guardian.

And that’s why it hurt when the end came.

Because she cared.

Even now, Zere thinks as she watches Hersha walk away, Yubel beside him and a thick blue travel cloak pulled around his shoulders, she would have chosen to chase that happiness despite how it ended all over again.

Because it was worth it.

Zere smiles faintly as she turns to set off on her own path. She’ll meet Hersha again, she knows, and they’ll both find other fleeting wisps of happiness to chase.

 

* * *

 

**Day 19: Mask**

“It’s a masquerade ball!” Hersha announces in a flurry of excited energy.

Tre glances up from his scroll and tries not to cringe. “Does mean I have to wear the fancy stuff?”

Hersha slaps his friend’s knee as he rushes past to throw open their clothing pack. “You look good in the ‘fancy stuff’.” He tosses a ridiculously shiny dress shirt at Tre’s head.

Tre definitely cringes as he pulls it off. Yubel snickers in the background. Tre resists the urge to shoot him a dirty look.

The trio had been received very well when they entered this town with the explanation of furthering Hersha’s education of the kingdom by hands on experience. The official cover story and not even a complete lie, although their primary objective remained looking for signs that the Light of Destruction’s taint had returned. The governor of the town prepared room and board for them and even invited them to a prior scheduled event that evening.

“Such fortunate timing!” the man had gushed, obviously over eager to have  _ the prince _ as a house guest. Tre still found it insulting how much these people objectified Hersha, but hopefully actual interaction could help lessen the impersonal chasm between ruler and people.

The current problem, however, wasn’t a matter of how Tre  _ looked _ in fancy dress clothes. The airy, light texture of noble silks left him feeling entirely self conscious because it often didn’t feel like he was even wearing clothing. He was far more accustomed to the rougher, thick fabrics of the common folk. And so he scowls at the shiny white, blue and gold adorned shirt in his hands, not at all looking forward to playing nice with unknown dignitaries while constantly reminding himself that, yes, he is decently covered and pretending he has any skill with formal speech.

Hersha dumps matching pants and a cape in Tre’s lap. “What are you waiting for!”

And all of those complaints die in his throat, as Tre looks up at Hersha’s sunshine smile.

“I got you this too!” Hersha beams, holding out a delicate white mask with gold trim. It’s...actually pretty tasteful, Tre decides, accepting it and running his fingers over the ridges in the design. Simple in design, but given Hersha’s own complaints about the gaudy nature of much formal attire, Tre shouldn’t be surprised.

The teen sports his own simplistic mask of red and gold, Yubel’s a deep green and gold.

Well, fine. Looks like these people will just have to deal with his natural speech patterns. It’s a party and Tre’s going to have fun.

 

* * *

 

**Day 22: Nightmares**

Jaden wakes up screaming.

He stumbles from the bed in a panic; Yubel is already doing damage control, trying to calm the storm, but Jaden can barely hear her past the ragged hitch of his own breath.

“Jaden?” Christina’s voice, alert and alarmed. A hand touches his arm cautiously. He shakes it off, stumbles forward; he’s not sure what he’s looking for--

“Jay,” another voice, and Jaden seizes, swings around and throws himself at the owner, both arms and wings folding around him as claws bury themselves tightly in the back of his shirt. Jesse jerks but wraps his arms just as tightly around the shaking teen, voice soft and steady. “Shhh, it’s okay, it was just a dream.”

Jaden hiccups and shakes his head. “Memory,” he chokes out, and clings that much tighter, tries to steady his breathing and ground himself in the knowledge that Jesse is here and alive.

Jesse breathes sharply, arms tensing a fraction before they relax again. “Really hoped you wouldn’t remember that.” He sounds resigned.

Jaden laughs and it sounds like a sob. He feels Christina’s arms slip gently around him as she leans into his back, humming softly. Jaden breathes, blinking tears from his eyes. Sometimes he likes exploring the memories of his past lives, and sometimes he really hates it when they creep up on him and immerse him in their vividity, leaving him lost in time.

Shuddering, Jaden peels their wings back and folds them against their shoulders. The events of back then are long past, dozens of lives and thousands of years. Both of them are standing here now, alive, and that’s what matters.

Gradually, his breath evens, the trembling subsides, and Jaden lets his friends lead him back to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote something for Promise! ...it was all I could think of... I did warn you guys I wouldn’t write anything too shippy for the boys... there was a reason i skipped day 1... yeah I don’t actually ship Infinite or Spirit... probably should have led with that.
> 
> (I do enjoy it tho)
> 
> (Totally used these prompts as an excuse to throw my own headcanons into the world)
> 
> As for day 21, betcha can’t guess what Jay’s next life is! *Cheshire smile*

**Day 20: Promise**

“You guys go on, I gotta keep up my attack.”

Brown eyes lock with green and for a moment it looks like Jaden will argue. The moment passes and the brunette sprints away. He trusts Jesse.

Heh. That level of trust is funny from a guy he’s known maybe two months.

Only two months, huh? Feels like longer.

A hand on his wrist pulls his attention to the redhead and then-

Lips.

On his.

Christina leans back, leaving Jesse’s lips tingling and - butterflies? This is what butterflies feel like? That word does not do justice to the intensity of the sensation!

“You better be right behind us,” she squeezes his wrist and pins him with expectant blue eyes.

Jesse manages a lopsided smile. “Well, I think ya just gave me a pr’tty big incentive.”

Christina grins and then turns away, fleeing after Jaden back into the school.

Goddamnit, his wrist tingles too.

Focus. Jesse turns his attention back to Rainbow, back to Yubel, and suddenly he’s glad he didn’t try to make a promise out of that demand. Because he’s got the sinking suspicion he wouldn’t be able to keep it.

 

* * *

 

**Day 21: Memory**

Jaden has a multitude of things bouncing through his head on any given day. From events in his former lives to half remembered, sometimes useless information to the freaking languages he used to speak. Some days it’s harder than others to concentrate on the here and now. And some days all that tries to drag him under until he doesn’t want to come back up. Those days get less as time goes on, but they still happen.

So maybe that’s why, as he stands in the threshold between life and death, he decides to lock it all up. A fresh start, unburdened by his multitude of past lives.

And maybe that’s why it all goes to shit in his next life.

(To be fair though, the breaking reality part wasn’t solely his fault.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, Zere’s name is pronounced _Zeh-ray_.
> 
> So I created an entire new incarnation for a couple of these prompts? Like, I didn’t even have this incarnation planned AT ALL, but I’m staring at the betrayal prompt going “???” cuz nothing have I planned between Hersha and Tre fits. Buuut I had wanted to include a corrupted version of the Light of Hope in at least one incarnation and remembered Crystal Master(Vanguard)’s design sooo yeah.
> 
> Hey guys meet Savannah! =D (I named her on the fly and then gave it a backstory. No judgy.)
> 
> *pretends to be caught up*
> 
> Day 25 and 27 are missing because inspiration and motivation are hard to find in tandem.

**Day 23. Anxiety/Uncertainty**

“Beware the evil taint of the Light!”

Savannah stills, fingers twitching against the ripe fruit she holds aloft.

Sapphire ducks his head next to her ear. “Ignore them,” he murmurs quietly. Creatures like the pegasus are uncommon enough let alone one that can fluently speak language.

Savannah turns her attention back to the produce in front of her, carefully filling her napsack with fresh goods in exchange for the hunted furs she'd offered the merchant.

But she can’t quite ignore the words that ring across the market.

“...bring ruin to all it touches! The source of all evil in this...”

“Savannah.” Sapphire nudges her head with his snout.

The power thumbing beneath her skin prickles. Savannah yanks the drawstrings closed, shoulders the pack, and walks away from the growing crowd that listens to the preacher’s words.

“...eradicate this evil force before it can…”

The walk back into the desert is uncharacteristically quiet.

“They fear it,” Sapphire says at length. “They have only known the destructive Light, they do not realize that it can be used for good as well.”

Savannah only hums in response. “Is that why?” she asks into the warm desert air.

“It is...not unlikely.”

Savannah glares at the golden sand. Sand comprise her earliest memories. She does not remember parents, only sand. But she knows, she has seen enough of human society, she had parents once and they abandoned her in this dessert.

Her hand tightens on the handle of the sack.

“Savannah?”

“I'm fine.” She is anything but fine; the Light writhes under her skin.

Sapphire found her in the dessert, sheltered her, and named her after the golden sands. He helped her give shape to the power that shone beneath her skin, told her stories of the Kings of Light and Darkness.

As a child there were many things she never questioned. But now...

_“The source of all evil... bring ruin to all it touches!”_

What exactly is she suppose to believe?

 

* * *

 

**Day 24: Doubt/Trust/Deception**

“You will find him and you will protect him,” Sapphire always told her. “This is your existence. Light and Darkness must work in harmony to maintain balance in creation.”

“You are special,” he’d also told her and she’d taken pride in the Light that existed under her skin.

But wasn’t that same Light the reason she’d been left in the dessert to die? The reason Sapphire raised her out here instead of within human society?

As a child she’d revelled in the idea that someone was out there waiting for her. Now she wonders why she must be bound by the chains of a power she never asked for. Destiny is nothing more than a pretty word that strips away her right of choice.

Whispers of doubt coalesce into anger which takes the form of a spear crafted with the very power she now despises. She might not have chosen this Light that shimmers beneath her skin, but she will chose how she wields it.

“S-Savannah!” Sapphire cries, fear and confusion in his large eyes. “W-why?”

“Why?” Savannah parrots, voice harsh as she shifts her grip on the shaft of the spear. “Why should I care about someone I’ve never met?”

Sapphire struggles, chest heaving. “Y-you don’t understand. You haven’t y-yet remembered--”

“Why should I let anyone else decide my life? It’s mine!” Savannah drives the spear deeper; the pegasus shrieks in pain. “You preach so much about my destiny but you never asked if it I wanted it!” she snarls, letting the resentment fly free.

The jeweled horn on Sapphire’s forehead flashes, and Savannah snears. _Good,_ she thinks, _let the others come. Let them see their fate before I deliver it to them._

Blue light pours from the wound as Savannah yanks her spear free. The glow engulfs the pegasus and what is left in its wake is a large, unpolished gemstone.

Savannah lets her spear rest and waits for the others to come.

 

* * *

 

**Day 26: Sacrifice**

Hersha curses, gripping his left arm where light seeps out from the gash like some kind of twisted infection. Darkness flickers methodically around the edge of wound. His eyes slip in and out of focus.

Zere huddles some distance away, clenched hands trembling around her staff. Her magic had proved largely ineffective, and there stood too much risk of her being corrupted. She must must hate feeling useless.

Hersha can fight it off, given time.

Tre glances back to the battle. Rainbow’s attacks are ineffective, but so are the woman’s - Emissary of Light or whatever she wants to call herself. It’s a stalemate.

He looks back to Hersha, the war between Darkness and Light playing across the wound.

Tre stands.

“Tre?”

“Yubel, look after him,” he murmurs, moving away from the protection of the dragonoid’s wing.

“Tre, what are you--?” Hersha struggles to stand but Yubel’s wings fold around him once more. He’ll be safe.

Tre isn’t the one to fight this, he knows; doesn’t know how he knows but he does. This isn’t a battle he can win, maybe not even one he can survive; but if he can buy Hersha the time he needs, then that’s enough.

“I can at least do this much,” he says, eyes on the Light that wreaths the Emissary. Gathering the power that’s been growing inside him ever since awakening the Rainbow Dragon, he charges.

“Tre!”

It goes better than he thought it would at first. Light clashes against Light in a brilliantly ineffective display that cancels out each others attacks and reduces them to nothing more than harmless sparks. Which further strengthens the notion that Light isn’t supposed to fight Light and that Tre can’t win this. But that’s fine. He doesn’t _need_ to win this. That isn’t the point.

Rainbow roars and Tre pushes forward. His sword is ripped from his hands. He creates a new one purely from Light.

Something changes. Pinpricks of heat tingle along his skin, under his skin. A warning flares against his mind, Rainbow urging him to back down. But - Tre’s attention flickers briefly to Hersha and Yubel - it hasn’t been enough time yet. So he pushes forward despite the warning.

The heat grows. Sparks ignite into a scalding white burn that consumes him from the inside.

Tre falls.

 

* * *

 

**Day 28: Mirage/Illusion**

“Well then let me be the first to welcome you.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya.”

Their hands meet. Jaden feels a spark. For a moment they’re standing in a trampled dirt field, high stone walls all around them, a blue cloak hangs around the other’s shoulders.

He blinks. They’re standing on Duel Academy’s roof. His hand still tingles.

“Have we met before?”


End file.
